On 28 March 2025, the European Council for Construction Research, Development, and Innovation (ECCREDI) met at the NEST facility of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) in Dübendorf, Switzerland. This meeting brought together key stakeholders from the European construction sector to discuss advancements in research and innovation aimed at enhancing sustainability and efficiency within the sector.
A main focus of the discussions was to update the ECCREDI Strategy Document, to ensure that the Council’s direction aligns with evolving industry needs and legislative developments. This was followed by a guided tour of NEST, EMPA’s modular research and innovation building. NEST serves as a dynamic testbed for emerging construction technologies and sustainable building practices. Attendees explored various units within NEST, each demonstrating innovative solutions in energy efficiency, circular economy, and digitalisation.
During the council meeting, EBC Technical Officer Evangelia Tsiala presented the Horizon Europe project SUM4Re—’Creating Materials Banks from Digital Urban Mining’. Launched in June 2024, SUM4Re aims to transform the management of construction and demolition waste (CDW), which constitutes a great portion of the EU’s waste stream. The project integrates advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Building Information Modelling (BIM), and remote sensing to identify and repurpose materials from existing buildings. By establishing material banks through digital urban mining, SUM4Re promotes circular construction practices, thereby reducing waste and conserving resources.
The SUM4Re partnership is currently collecting evidence to better understand current practices, challenges, and opportunities in the sector in terms of reuse of secondary materials and CDW management. This short survey aims to collect feedback from construction professionals, policymakers, researchers, and anyone interested in circular economy practices. If interested in sharing your expertise and best practices to support circular construction, take the survey here : https://forms.office.com/r/D26a8w2ppp.
Since joining ECCREDI in 2018, EBC has actively engaged in continuous dialogue with key players in research, digitalisation, and innovation. This collaboration aims to bring tangible benefits to SMEs and craft trades by facilitating access to cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. Through initiatives like SUM4Re, EBC highlights its commitment to supporting SMEs to remain competitive and contribute to the sector’s overall sustainability goals.
For more information about ECCREDI, visit the website: www.eccredi.org
For more information about SUM4RE, visit the website: https://sum4re.eu/
For more information about EMPA, visit the website: https://www.empa.ch
 | SUM4RE has received funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 101129961. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HADEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. |
